Chris Quilty
Chris Quilty
Co-CEO and President
Chris Quilty began making his footprint in the satellite & space sector as a trusted authority, media pundit, and twice-recognized Wall Street Journal “Best on the Street” analyst more than two decades ago while serving as a sell-side analyst for Raymond James. Chris initiated coverage on the space industry in the mid-2000s and has subsequently published hundreds of company-specific, macro, sector, and thematic research reports. Leveraging his vast space industry knowledge and a commitment to thought-leading research, Chris co-founded Quilty Space (formerly Quilty Analytics) in 2016. He is regarded as a valued source of industry insight across all verticals of the space ecosystem — from manufacturing and launch through satcom, EO, hardware, and downstream analytics. He is a frequent consultant to the full range of satellite & space investors and stakeholders, from leading prime contractors and government agencies to satellite operators and technology companies. Chris earned a B.S. in Systems Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and an MBA from The University of Chicago.
Carissa Christensen
Carissa Bryce Christensen is the Chief Executive Officer and founder of BryceTech, LLC, based in Alexandria, VA. She previously co-founded defense contractor The Tauri Group, acquired by LMI in 2019, and quantum computing software firm QxBranch, acquired by Rigetti Computing in 2019. She is an active tech investor and has served on several early-stage boards.
Ms. Christensen is an internationally recognized expert on the satellite and space industry, known for rigorous analysis and innovative, data-driven strategy. She is a Senior Advisor to the annual US Space Force Schriever Wargame. She serves on the Senior Advisory Council of the Aerospace Corporation Center for Space Policy and Strategy, serves on the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Space, and chairs the US board of the UN-affiliated Space Generation Advisory Council. She is a founding member of the Future Space Leaders Foundation and chairs its Advisory Board. Ms. Christensen previously served on the National Research Council Space Technology Industry-Government-University Roundtable, which advises NASA, and served on the Space Committee of the Defense Innovation Board.
Ms. Christensen is a Harvard Business School Entrepreneur-in-Residence. She guest lectures at universities including Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy. She has testified before Congress and Parliament committees on the space industry. She publishes extensively, is often cited by major media outlets, and has appeared in commercial space documentaries by The Financial Times, Bloomberg and HBO.
Ms. Christensen is a graduate of Harvard University’s Kennedy School, where she specialized in science and technology policy. She attended the London School of Economics and was a Douglass Scholar at Rutgers University. She is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and of the Royal Aeronautical Society. Ms. Christensen was named 2023 Executive of the Year (Up to $75M) at the Greater Washington GovCon Awards.
Sita Sonty
Sita Sonty is a Partner and Managing Director in the AlixPartners AD&A Americas group. She served as a career Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. State Department, CEO of a space company, Partner at BCG, and Executive at SpaceX and Raytheon.
Prior to AlixPartners, Sita served as the CEO of Space Tango. Before that, she was the global lead for Commercial Space at BCG, where she was also a BCG Federal Core member. Earlier in her career, Sita has also held roles in Sierra Nevada Corporation, SpaceX, Raytheon, and served in senior roles at the Department of State.
She graduated with distinction from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies; studied at Jussieu in Paris (1998) and the Centre des Etudes Maghrebines en Tunisie (CEMAT) (2001); and graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College in Political Science and Economics.
Her native tongue is Telugu; she also speaks Hindi, French, Arabic, Croatian, and Urdu. Sita serves as Executive Board Member for Women in Aerospace, The Johns Hopkins University President’s Alumni Council, and the Washington Leadership Program.